Perovskite Ordering for Waste Energy Recovery

Informazioni relative al progetto

POWER

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101027589

DOI

10.3030/101027589

Progetto concluso il 30 Aprile 2026

Data della firma CE 6 Aprile 2021

Data di avvio 1 Settembre 2021

Data di completamento 2 Ottobre 2026

Finanziato da

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Costo totale

€ 187 572,48

Contributo UE

€ 187 572,48

Coordinato da

RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - POWER (Perovskite Ordering for Waste Energy Recovery)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-09-01 al 2023-08-31

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

Imagine an electronic device that could harvest energy from the first ray of the sun, every single beat of your heart, and even exhaust from your automobile. The boost in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have forced a fast deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices are expected to operate 24x7 at the pane of a blink. Powering such devices accounts for 6% of the global fossil fuel energy production. The best way to meet this power demand is to develop self-sustainable, monolithic, long-lasting, electronic devices that are designed to receive mechanical, thermal, and photovoltaic input from the surroundings individually or simultaneously to provide an electrical output whenever needed. This will be achieved by engineering high performing unrivalled materials’
architectures, with high piezoresponse for mechanical energy conversion and efficient transport properties for thermal and photovoltaic performance. POWER aims at chemically modifying lead-free hybrid halide organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) and improving
their stability by encapsulating them in a polymer matrix. Following this, the structural, optical, and electrical response of these materials and their integrated devices will be measured and correlated with the crystal structure.
Lessons from these fundamental multi-dimensional studies will not only offer a solution to our dream self-sustainable device but will also motivate scientists and researchers working in the regime of hardware support for AI, chemistry, materials science, and device physics. The project integrates expertise on HOIP synthesis and device characterization with expertise in thin-film growth and mechatronics.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

The implementation was substantially affected by recurrent periods of sickness of the fellow. These interruptions reduced the continuity and effective time available for laboratory work and made it particularly difficult to execute the sequential experimental programme, in which later objectives depended on successful completion and optimization of earlier materials steps. Consequently, the central scientific objectives and quantitative milestones set out in the DoA were not achieved within the action, and no peer-reviewed publication resulting from POWER was produced. During periods in which work was possible, scientific activity continued through project development, exploratory work and integration with related host-group research on ferroelectric, piezoelectric and energy-harvesting materials. Mandatory ethics and data-management requirements were also addressed during project close-out.

The DoA envisaged metal-HOIP-metal devices capable of converting individual or combined mechanical, thermal and photovoltaic inputs, with ambitious quantitative targets for power density, thermoelectric performance, cyclability and optical absorption.
In this direction, the fellow has collaborated with members of Acuautla’s team in the investigation of the Influence of the length of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of PVDF-TrFE composite films. The objective was to study the energy harvesting performance of the PVDF-TrFE composite films (d31 mode bending and/or cantilever system). Characterization was made on the initial performance of the sample as flexible d33 mode device.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

The fellowship provided a multidisciplinary setting spanning materials chemistry, ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials, thin-film processing and device-oriented energy harvesting. The preliminary scientific concepts documented at close-out indicate that the fellow was able to engage with research questions beyond her original HOIP background, particularly in ferroelectric thin films, polymer composites and scalable processing. These interactions can inform future research activity even though the training and career-development impact of the fellowship was reduced substantially by the interruptions.

The scientific motivation of POWER remains relevant to European objectives in sustainable energy use, lead-free materials and low-power/edge electronics: harvesting ambient mechanical, thermal or optical energy could reduce dependence on batteries and external power supplies for distributed devices. However, because the planned POWER demonstrator was not completed, this statement concerns the potential relevance of the research direction rather than a demonstrated project impact.

In the absence of completed POWER results and given the recurrent sickness-related interruptions, dissemination necessarily remained more limited. Scientific exchange occurred primarily within the host research environment and through development of related research concepts. Any future publication derived from work genuinely performed under POWER will acknowledge the MSCA funding and comply with the open-access obligations of the Grant Agreement.
The exploitation strategy is therefore updated from prototype/IP-oriented exploitation to preservation and responsible future use of the scientific concepts, methods and any sufficiently documented data produced during the action.